The Things He'll Never Admit
by prettypurple
Summary: Alone with his thoughts at night, Salem thinks of a few reasons why he can't wait to be human again, and one reason why he can.


_I don't own Sabrina: The Animated Series. Also, I made up when and why Sabrina's aunts became teens, because the show was vague on those details._

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It was one of those nights when Salem Saberhagen just couldn't get any sleep, no matter how hard he tried, because he couldn't stop thinking about the past, and how a once great warlock was now stuck as a house pet. He rolled over in his cramped cat condo and resignedly pulled off his currently useless sleep mask. As Salem flung it aside, he stared long and hard at his paw.

He'd grown used to his cat body, but he didn't always like it. Sometimes Salem embraced his feline form and the typical catlike habits that came with it (chasing mice, taking lots of naps, etc.), but other times he felt like he was stuck in a fur coat that he couldn't take off. And although his claws could be useful sometimes, Salem often felt nostalgic for opposable thumbs, of all things, and for the days when he could go outside without risking being chased by snarling dogs. He was definitely looking forward to the day when his human body and powers were returned to him, especially since he wouldn't have to cough up hairballs anymore. But that day was still over seven decades away.

Salem's eyes trailed over to where Sabrina was sleeping peacefully on her bed. It was only a few more hours before she had to wake up and go to school, and then she'd probably get upset about something, probably Gem Stone or one of her uncle's rules, and mayhem would ensue. He'd gotten used to that stuff too...almost. Things like that would sometimes make Sabrina another reason Salem couldn't wait to be human again. She was impulsive and whiny, and even though there was still time for her to outgrow those traits, Sabrina ought to have learned by now that using magic to solve her problems only made them worse. For the same reasons that Salem wanted to get away from Sabrina, he wanted to stay with her. She needed him to call her out on stupid decisions, even if she hardly ever listened. But he would never admit that, not ever.

He would never admit that, having known Sabrina since she was a baby and seeing her_ almost_ every day of her life, he could never imagine her not being in _his _life. And Salem would certainly never admit to pitying Sabrina, with her family life being what it was:

Hilda and Zelda weren't always much better than their niece, with their constant fighting and all. The circumstances involving Sabrina's aunts being turned into teenagers were complicated, but basically, one night, one of Hilda and Zelda's arguments had gotten extremely out of hand, and Enchantra had punished them. She'd reasoned that the Spellman sisters might as well have appearances that matched their level of maturity. Uncle Quigley had then moved into their house to look after them until they finished high school. Salem was glad that _he _didn't have any embarrassing relatives. He considered himself the only sane resident of the Spellman home, or at least the only sane resident who wasn't a mortal, like Quigley.

And, Salem knew that Sabrina had already had enough people leave her: Sabrina's parents hardly ever saw her since their divorce, due to their jobs, with her mother travelling to archaeological digs and her father...

Now that he thought about it, Salem wasn't sure what Sabrina's father did, even though he'd known Ted Spellman for a long time. It seemed that Sabrina still felt the need to live up to the expectations set up for her by her parents, as her father was a warlock and her mother was a respected archaeologist from a long line of "Students of the Year". And then, of course, there was that whole Netherworld prejudice against half-witches...

All of this thinking nearly made Salem fall into a much-desired sleep, but a few soft cries from Sabrina made him open his eyes again: she was curled up into a ball and shivering, as her blanket had slipped from around her. Too tired to move, Salem magically readjusted Sabrina's blanket, grateful that he still had some power left and that Sabrina was so out-of-it that she likely wouldn't remember what he'd just done; he wasn't much for mushy stuff.

Sabrina was one reason why Salem wasn't always in a hurry to turn back into a full-fledged warlock and be free, but she would never know that.


End file.
